--classstrugggle-flipmag CS Mar-2019 MKP - Page 18

CRZ Rules - 2018 Favour to Capitalists at the Cost of Fishing Communities
In the din of preparations by
the two ruling class parties
slandering each other and making
grand announcements of populist
schemes to catch votes for the
coming general elections, the
union government headed by the
BJP has surreptitiously notifies the
Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ)
2018 rules reviewing the rules
notified in 2011.
The new rules have been
notified with the approval of the
central cabinet, though the present
amendment was quashed by a High
Court. Though a cabinet decision
cannot supersede a High Court
order, unless either by an
ordinance or by passing it in the
Parliament, the BJP government
disregarding these procedures
made the amendment.
Through these new rules, the
No Development Zone (NDZ) along
the tidal-influenced water bodies
has been reduced from 100 meters
to 50 meters and 20 meters has
been set for islands.
The legal mechanism that
came up in the aftermath of 2004
tsunami and coastal vulnerabilities
to climate change has been
deleted. The existing deadlines to
identify violations and phase out
sewage and waste disposal in to
sea are made to lapse.
Since 1991, when the CRZ Act
was enacted with much fanfare, 25
amendments were made to it. But
this is not aimed at improving the
provisions of the Act to protect
environment and peoples lives, but
rather to dilute the law to suit the
vested interests at the peril of
people.
These new relaxed rules are
mooted to encourage migration to
and intensify construction activities
in the already endangered shore-
line zone. This will enable the real
estate industry and government’s
Sagarmala project to step into the
coastal zone.
18
On one hand, the government
made this desperate move to push
its Sagarmala plans into the
coastline and river lines under the
National Water Ways Act-2016 and
on the other hand, had made it a
boon to the big real estate industry
and private tourist property
business.
The CRZ-2019 will cause the
increase of unbounded illegalities
being committed by the big and
large scale real estate business.
The new amendments not only
adversely affect the coastal areas
in many parts of the country
ecologically. But also devastates
the livelihoods of the coastal
communities like fishermen, toddy
tappers, farmers as well as petty
businessmen. The new rules will
endanger ecology by destruction
of mangroves, corals and coral-
reefs associated with bio-diversity,
sand dunes, mudflats, salt
marshes, turtle nestling grounds
etc.
Many objections haven been
raised against the draft rules when
made public in April 2018 from
various coastal states. UTs besides
other stake-holders particularly
related to the management and
conservation of marine and
coastal eco-systems, development
in coastal areas, eco-tourism,
livelihood option and sustainable
development of coastal commu-
nities etc.
The proposed amendments
were strongly opposed by the
National Fishworkers Forum (NFF)
since their announcement in June
2014 by the Sailesh Nayak
Committee. The NFF interacted
with the parliamentarian – several
MPs from coastal states of
Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal,
Tamil Nadu and Goa – and high-
lighted their objections to the draft
amendments to CRZ Act at the
Constitution Club, New Delhi. Even
the central minister Suresh Prabhu
has given them assurance that he
would take of the objections.
Despite these representations and
a High Court order, the BJP
government had willfully ignored
them and notified the new rules, to
benefit the large industrialists and
real estate business. This is a
deliberate slaughter of the coastal
areas.
The new CRZ rules are totally
against the interests of environ-
ment as well common man.
The present CRZ rules changing
the environment protection laws
are regressive and against the
public interest. These shall be
scrapped. With such a demand to
save the land, livelihoods of coastal
communities organize and start an
united struggle of the people is the
immediate need of the hour.

TARIMELA NAGIREDDY MEMORIAL TRUST PUBLICATIONS
HISTORICAL AND POLEMICAL DOCUMENTS
OF THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
VOL.I 1943-51- RS. 300/-
VOL.II 1963-72- RS. 500/-
For Details:
P.Jaswantha Rao, Secretary,
T.N.Memorial Trust, 32-13-26/1,
M.R.Puram, Vijayawada, pin-520 010.
Class Struggle